Coin-operated ski checker



1960 o. H. STEINER 2,963,165

COIN-OPERATED SKI CHECKER Filed May 13, 1957 E- CK INVENTOR. OTTO H.STEINER 722m ZMM A rronugvs United States Patent COIN-OPERATED SKICHECKER Otto H. Steiner, Denver, Colo. (Aspen, Colo.)

Filed May 13, 1957, Ser. No. 658,865

1 Claim. (Cl. 211-4) This invention relates to temporary storage andlocking facilities for skis and ski poles in public areas where normalchecking facilities for safeguarding skis, ski poles and the like arenot generally available. The device provides in one form a plurality ofracks arranged for holding skis in a substantially-upright position, andeach rack is fitted with a coin-operated locking gate so that skis andski poles may be secured in the racks to provide safekeeping for theskis and ski poles during temporary non-use.

Included among the objects and advantages of the present invention is aneconomical, positive means for storing skis of the commonly-used sizes,during temporary non-use at public ski courses and other places wheresafe-guarding the bulky items of ski equipment, especially skis and skipoles, is difficult and heretofore not satisfactory. The device includesan upright storage rack for skis with a coin-operated locking gate whichprovides means for securing skis in a temporary storage space along withski poles until their user retrieves the same. Means are provided toreduce the possibility of theft of the various sizes of skis from theracks.

These and other objects and advantages may be readily ascertained byreferring to the following description and appended illustrations inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of one form of the invention showing amultiple rack unit for storage of skis and the like;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail of one method of supporting the bottoms ofskis and the like in the device according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one form of a locking mechanism accordingto the invention for holding the skis and ski poles;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of a ski locking gate andpole support;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational detail view of the locking gateillustrated in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view and partial section of a modified upperski-positioning mount.

The ski storing mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a mount 1secured in the ground and arranged to support a ski rack at a distanceabove the ground to allow for accumulation of snow and the like at theplace of installation. A base member 2 is mounted on the support 1, anda series of supports 3 extend upwardly from the base a distancesufiicient to extend above the longest ski in use (which is about 7 /2feet). A covering 4 is mounted on the top of the mount 1 in position toform a top stop so that skis mounted in the rack cannot be lifted up outof a lower holding mechanism. The supports 3 are secured to the top 4,and the ski-holding means are mounted thereon. An upright wall, whichmay be used in place of the supports 3, and the supports are preferablytoed in at the bottom so that a ski mounted substantially parallel andin upright position is tilted slightly out at the top. By having theskis in the rack tilting out at the top, the racks cannot be usedwithout locking the gate since the skis are slightly unbalancedoutwardly and would topple out of the rack. This, of course, preventsunauthorized storage without paying for the same.

The rack illustrated in Fig. 1 may have a wall which is circular,rectangular, oblong or any other shape desired. Also the rack is shownfor outdoor temporary ski storage in which the base plate orski-supporting plate 2 is mounted a distance above ground to allow forthe accumulation of snow and dripping of the skis. The roof 4 providesmeans for keeping the snow pack from the ski storage area itself.Obviously, the device could be made for use inside a building, in whichcase a roof as such would not be needed, but a simple top or cover whichextends over the racks to prevent moving the skis upwardly out of thelocked gate would be suflicient. Where the ceiling of the room in whichthe storage is mounted is sufficiently low, the ceiling may act as astop. Also, various types of means may be used in the building as alower support for the skis, the most practical being the floor in whichthe rack is situated, provided drainage for the rack is supplied.

The skis in stored position require upright positioning in the correctstall, and for this purpose boxes 5 are mounted on the base plate 2, asshown in enlarged detail in Fig. 2. The box provides a simple means ofsupporting the skis in position directly below the locking mechanism,and provides means for accumulating or discarding drippings from meltingsnow and ice on the skis. The bottom 6 of the box may be a foraminousbottom such as a punched and expanded metal, screen, and the like toinsure adequate drainage of liquid running off the skis. The upper endsof the skis are held in position directly above the locking mechanism bymeans of pegs 7 mounted on a board 8 secured to the uprights 3. The pegs7 are placed far enough apart so that a pair of facing skis may readilyfit therebetween. The pins are placed a sufficient distance above thebottom plate 2 to hold either short or long skis, as for example asixfoot-six ski indicated by dashed lines 9 or the larger skis 10. Thedistance between the bottom plate and the top or roof 4 should besufficient to have a small clearance for the longest skis used betweenthe upper and lower stop members so that the skis may be readily placedin position in the rack.

A locking mechanism, shown in general by the numeral 12 and shown indetail in Fig. 3, includes a gate 13 pivoted by means of a pin 14 toside wall 15. The gate closes against side wall 16, and is therearranged to be locked when flush with the outermost part of the wall 16.A plate 17 having two semi-circular slots 18 is secured between the twoend walls. The slots are in position to register with two semi-circularslots 19 in the gate 13 and provide means for holding ski poles when thegate is closed. The distance between the edge of the wall 17 and the endwall 15 is sufficient to freely accommodate a pair of skis in facingupright position. able key 20, operating a lock mechanism which is notshown, provides means for releasably locking the gate after the skis 10and the ski poles have been placed in position. The locking mechanismmay be any commonly-used coin-operated locking mechanism on such devicesas luggage lockers, etc. The major visible components of such lockingdevices are illustrated in Fig. 5, where a coin slot 22 permits meansfor operating the lock and for removing the key 20 after a coin has beenplaced in the slot. A counter 23 indicates the number of times thedevice has been used. The coins may be removed from the coin box by wellknown means.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, a lock A remov--mechanism mounted on the supports 3 includes a gate 25 pivotally securedto end wall 15 by means of the pivot 14 the gate swings shut against endwall 16 in position for locking engagement with a lock (not shown)operated by means of the key 20. In this modification, however, anelongated pin 26 is mounted on the back of the rack and extendsforwardly to a position where its outer end will engage a hole 27 in thegate-25 when in the closed position, indicated by dashed lines 25; Skipoles 30 are hung by means of the hand straps 31 over the pin 26, andwhen the gate 25 is swung into closed position, the poles are securelyheld on the pins 26 while the skis are held upright in the rack. To aidthe user, a handle 28 is provided on the gate to help open the gate.Each gate 25 and 13 includes a latch slot 29 in the end thereof toaccommodatethe lock bolt, not shown, which is actuated by the key 20.The movement of the bolt into the latch slot locks the gate securely.

In certain instances it may be desirable to more securely hold the upperportions of the skis and a springclip system for the holding isindicated in Fig. 6. A spring clip or clamp 32 is secured by means ofrivets 33 to the lateral 8 in position to hold skis 10 in uprightposition. The outer portion of the clamp 32 includes a necked'downportion 34 which holds the ski in upright position while the usermanipulates the gates.

By numbering each of the gates and by numbering boxes 5 at the bottom ofthe rack with corresponding numbers, a quick identification system isprovided. Also, by numbering the boxes to correspond with the gates, theuser may visually align the ski in the correct box for the desired gate.This is especially valuable where there are no other skis in the rack.Also, as is the normalpractice, the key is stamped with the same numberas the gate so that the user can quickly identify his rack position.

To further safeguard the skis when placed in the rack, a pole 35 ishorizontally mounted on the rack wall by means of brackets, not shown,which holds the bar out a distance from the wall and permits the skis tobe readily placed between the wall and the bar. By having the bar placedabout twenty-four inches from the bottom of the ski rest, the bottom ofthe skis in the rack cannot be lifted out of the boxes and movedoutwardly. This prevents the skis from being pulled downwardly through4. the lock. The bar 35, in other words, acts as a theft bar whichprevents removal of the skis from the rack when in locked position.

While the invention has been illustrated by reference to specificembodiments, there is no intent to limit the device to the precisedetails so set forth, except insofar as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A temporary locking storage-support for a plurality of pairs of skis andaccessories comprising an upright support means, a base fixedlypositioned with respect to said support means, a plurality of shallowrecesses arranged on said base, each said recess being arranged toaccommodate the rear ends of a pair of skis and prevent lateral movementof such ends, a cover member mounted on said support means spaced fromthe base a distance slightly greater than the length of the skis to bestored so as to prevent upward movement and removal of such stored skis,an intermediate support mounted on said support means inclusive ofoutwardly directed pairs of projections arranged to hold bottom tobottom positioned skis therebetween, each of said pair of projectionsbeing positioned substantially vertically aboveone of said recesses, anarrow stall mounted on said support member intermediate each set ofcooperating projections and recesses and arranged to accommodate pairsof skis standing upwardly from said recesses and held between saidprojections, and a locking gate member mounted on each stall fortemporarily locking said skis in upright position in said storagesupport.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS532,507 Westphal Jan. 15, 1895' 1,007,414 Alexander Oct. 31, 19111,288,286 Teague Dec. 17, 1918 1,342,517 Tyson June 8, 1920 2,070,904Jennings Feb. 16, 1937 2,142,830 Wendell Jan. 3, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS100,125 Switzerland July 2, 1923 180,133 Germany Jan. 4, 1907

